Edwards tosses Cats to win over Mats
Los Gatos rolls to 42-7 victory
By Dick Sparrer
One thing is very clear for the Los Gatos football team this fall. When Trent Edwards has a big game, the Wildcats are going to win. And last Friday night Trent Edwards had a big game.
The 6-foot-5, 193-pound senior quarterback completed 16 of 21 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns. And it could have been more... had he played more than just the first two plays of the second half.
But then, Edwards played long enough to lead the Cats to a 42-7 Friday night win over Monta Vista. And he played well enough that he even impressed Gatos football's toughest critic--Cats head coach Butch Cattolico.
"I've seen Trent have some good ballgames," Cattolico said. "But Friday night may have been his best. I thought he played as well as I've seen him play."
Los Gatos came out throwing against the Matadors, and before the Mats what hit them, the Cats were up 21-0.
"We came out saying that if they were going to give us the pass, we were going to take it," Cattolico said. "The tone was set early."
Edwards completed nine passes for 134 yards in the first quarter to lead the Cats down the field to three touchdowns.
The first time Los Gatos touched the football, the Wildcats moved in for a touchdown. Chris Willard carried three times for 24 yards and Edwards completed three passes for 51 yards, including a 24-yard TD toss to Scott Cohn.
The Matadors went three plays and out, and Edwards went to work again. He ate up 49 yards with passes to Cohn, Gino Gingery and Derek Tam, and Willard capped the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run.
But the Wildcats weren't finished yet. The Mats went three and out again, and Edwards hooked up for three more passes--two to Cohn for 25 yards and one to Gingery for 9 yards and a touchdown.
Anthony Frangadakis kicked the third of his six extra points, and the Cats were up 21-0 after a period.
Los Gatos moved in for one more touchdown before intermission. Edwards found Gingery twice for 41 yards, and Willard raced 15 yards for a score.
Monta Vista moved the football a bit to open the second half, but stalled, and the Cats took over at their own 48. Edwards tossed a swing pass to Willard for 39 yards, then hit Gingery for 13 yards and a touchdown. And the Los Gatos starters were through for the night.
Charlie Clark scored on an 11-yard run in the third quarter to put the Cat ups 42-0.
Monta Vista scored late in the game to avoid the shutout, but could do little even against the Los Gatos reserves.
"We kept it balanced," Cattolico said. "We ran a little bit and threw a little bit."
That's an understatement. Edwards threw for 293 yards, hitting Cohn with seven passes for 110 yards, Gingery with four for 89, Tam with three for 54, Willard with one for 39 and Stuart Gordon one for 11.
And on the ground, the Wildcats had 12 ball carriers run for 199 yards. Willard led the charge with 91 yards on 13 carries and Clark gained 34 yards on four tries. Brian Miguel supported with 31 yards on six attempts.
Los Gatos dominated the Monta Vista defense with a strong blocking performances by fullback Travis Howell and the men up front, including starters Nick Crafford, John Allen, Dan Holtzman, Evan McDonald, Ryan Johnson and Matt Rose, backups Carter Wallace, Matt Losch, Tom Ferguson, Bryce Murray, Nathan Fillhardt and Logan Graff.
"We had a lot of people up there blocking," said the coach.
John Espe had another big night in the defensive line, leading the Cats with nine tackles.
"They ran their first play to John's side, and he hit the guy for a three-yard loss," Cattolico said. "That was the last play they ran to John's side."
Ken Heimer, Gingery and Howell were in on eight tackles each in the win. Drew Hoffman got in on seven stops and drew praise from the coach for his performance at defensive end.
"He's really coming on for us," said Cattolico of Hoffman.
The Wildcats, now 3-0, will host Palo Alto on Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m. The Vikings are also 3-0, coming off a win over Mountain View last weekend.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
